NOVEMBERLAND: the little shieldmaiden

9

It had been a week since Viorica told me about the story, and I had agreed to try and see what I could do. It was not easy, and I did not want to overthrow Alva, but I felt like I had to. To be called a shieldmaiden was something I loved as a child, and I had never thought that I would be the one father told tales about. A shieldmaiden was supposed to be the protector of Lynrike, the warrior that could kill any threat that might hurt its kingdom. Alva never really cared about the power, but she says she does because mother wants her to be the next queen, and she does everything mother says. And the Lynrikan books tell that the Queen should be the shieldmaiden, and Alva usually just danced or hung out with her ladies. 

I had read through every book that I could find in the library about Lynrike, which was little. I also managed to get access to the training arena after some persuasion, and I trained every day. It felt good to use the body again, as I had not used it for long, and when I was sick my body did not really get better. Grim helped me for a couple of days, but he had to travel back to Lynrike, he had to take care of Grandfather. Although Grim did not know what I was up to, I could not tell him, he could warn mother. Neither had I told Gryffin, only Viorica and I knew. And I really wanted to tell Tyr about it, he could be a lot of help, but he could not be in Nodroi as they read all letters, runic or normal. 

Today I was supposed to dine with the rulers of Novemberland, it was weird that I was the one to dine with them. I was going to share a dinner with the king of Calibur, king of Muriel and queen of Esca. To be honest, it could go well, but it could also go badly wrong. Now I had to be more careful too, but I did not care really. I bore more weapons now instead, one by the ankle, and another on the leg, and the last one by my sleeve. If I wanted to be shieldmaiden it meant that I had to be alive, and it meant that I would be the next ruler of Lynrike. 

To the dinner, I wore a blue dress to represent Lynrike's colours, and it had silver detailings so I could wear my belt. Eleanor wanted me to wear one with golden details, but after my decision, I felt like I had to wear it at all times. I felt even closer to my father now, even though he was never king, but he must have felt the same things as I did now.

"Where are you drifting off too? Thinking about King Gryffin?" Eleanor asked and I broke out of the daydreaming.

"What?" I asked and turned around at her, she was doing final touches to my hair.

"Oh! Careful!" she said laughing, and she made me turn around. "You can't deny it, I see how you two look at each other, especially him, he looks at you even when he's supposed to talk with important people, his attention still wanderers off to you," she said as she brushed my hair. 

"Oh shut up, he does not do that," I said and looked at her in the mirror that was in front of me. In my hair I had what looked like frozen hollies lying on top of my head like a crown, it was beautiful, and it was different. 

"Of course he does, everybody notices, even the workers in the kitchen has started to talk about it," she said and smiled. 

I only looked at the floor after that comment, so that she could not see me blush. Gryffin had been having a lot of meetings lately, and he had also looked into the case about the people in the forest and Lord Laurent.  I had not seen him for some days, or only a few times when I had walked past him in the halls when I was going to work out.

The dinner was held at the same place where the first one was held when I first arrived to Calibur, and that was when I realized that I had been here for about a month now. It was so weird, there was so much stuff that had happened, and over such a small period of time. I had changed a lot, I was now wearing dresses on a daily basis and getting ready to look pretty each day. Although I was not the only one that had changed, Gryffin had too, he looked so different now from when I met him the first time. Now he had colour in his face, his cheeks were not that bony anymore and he looked better in any type or form.